I DID IT! WHEEEEEE! 2 Hours and 22 minutes and some seconds. WOW - what a day. Thank you, thank you, thank you for visiting here. YAY! and Welcome... Why you might ask? Why do people indulge in madness such as this (and madness it is - oh yes!)? Firstly, cancer has been something that has been a major focus for me over the past years. One of my grandmothers was diagnosed with breast cancer first, then after fighting that off, she was later diagnosed with bone cancer. My Gran died earlier this year, but I've been running Race for Life in honour of her and her incredible grace through the whole process for the past five years or so. Then in March this year I was diagnosed with CFS/ M.E. and the bottom fell out of all my plans for being active, even running Race For Life. I was nervous I wouldn't be able to even walk the three miles. At the same time I really, really wanted to complete it in memory of my Gran. So, after some intense looking after myself, in May this year I actually ran Race for Life and having done that challenge I thought I would try take on a half marathon - why not hey? Now to asking you to be very generous, as ever. It may only be a few pounds you can put forward here but every little penny makes a difference - perhaps an enormous difference to you or me in the future. Any donation will make a valuable contribution and I thank you from the bottom of my heart in advance.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Cancer Research UK gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
So please sponsor me now! *** A Quick Update on Progress *** 26.08.09 - Well, the training is going.... not particularly well, but it's not a total disaster either. July saw me having a bit of an M.E. relapse/ nightmare and all thoughts of regular exercise went out the window as I focused on getting back onto my feet. August has had me concentrating on maintaining a base level of fitness and activity througout the week whether it's been walking, running, cross training or on my bike and I'm happy that I'm able to sustain something relatively active. Hopefully September will see me able to fit at least three regular runs a week of gradual lengths: 3 miles, 3 miles and 4 miles then 3, 4, 4,; 3, 4, 4 again then 3, 4, 5 etc until I am running a decent mileage at least once a week. It's pretty last minute unfortunately but I do still plan to complete this half marathon! It may be slower than desired but it'll be complete! 10.09.09 - Things are going surprisingly well! I've been able to follow my running plan which was created using a nice automatic thingy at Runners World. I am finding that as long as I keep my pace slow and steady and don't get out of breath then I can go for at least seven miles with no problem. I say at least seven because I haven't tried any more yet. My running plan doesn't call for it and I trust my running plan with my life. Or at least my legs! :) I'm also discovering that it's all about believing that you can do it rather than being worried that you can't. There's much, much more about that here: http://wp.me/poCA4-5n 28.09.09 - Okay, running sucks. YUP. I am fed up of running seven miles - officially. It takes too much time and my knees are trying to convince me that I'm actually eighty years old. The initial delight of "I can do this?!" has been replaced with "OW, I'm doing this and it hurts. Why am I doing this?" and then I remember, so I carry on. Just a few more weeks to go and this week I put in an extra two miles - it's now four days out of seven that I run and I think I'm going to have to start eating copious quantities of pasta soon. Also a HUGE thank you to those who have already donated, both on and offline. You're fantastic, marvelous and wonderful and, as you can tell, I'm both ridiculously grateful and also easily bought.  ***
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